Explore and connect with local nature
Term One is a great time of year to explore your school grounds and local area, celebrating the last month of summer and harvesting kai as we move into autumn. This term includes lots of opportunities to engage with water and animals, such as World Wetlands Day and Seaweek, along with Bug of the Year and Butterfly Week in February and Whio Awareness month in March.
Summer nature exploring seasonal slideshows from DOC are a great way to add nature connection activities to your learning.
The start of a new school year is also the perfect opportunity to encourage ākonga and your wider school community to use active travel options, with events over February and March including the Aotearoa Bike Challenge and in the Wellington region Movin' March.
Click on the bold headings below to access resources, websites and more information about events happening this term.
Events this term
Week 1
Feb 2 World Wetlands Day
This year's theme is "Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage". This event provides an opportunity to connect with your local repo | wetlands and explore local pūrākau and mātauranga Māori, using resources from the Science Learning Hub.
Feb 6 Waitangi Day
Week 1 - 2
Jan 1 - Feb 16 NZ Bug of the Year
The Entomological Society of New Zealand is proud to host this annual national competition. Voting closes on Monday Feb 16, so make sure you check out the website in the first few weeks of school!
Week 2 - 3
Feb 9 - 20 Big Butterfly Count during I Love Butterflies Week
Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust have some great opportunities for students this term, including citizen science projects. The link above takes you to instructions about the Butterfly Count, and there is also a project to tag Monarch Butterflies along with the ongoing School Butterfly Habitat Award.
Week 4
Young Ocean Explorers 21-day challenge starts Feb 23rd for students in Yrs 1 - 8. Riley Hathaway, and her father Steve, will take you above and below the glistening waters of the Hauraki Gulf to meet all the amazing species and their habitats, learn about the challenges the Gulf is facing, and be inspired by the amazing people making it a better place.
Week 5
Feb 28 - March 8 Seaweek
Celebrate connecting with our seas, with lots of resources and local events happening around the motu.
Read our Spotlight article to help find ideas: Moana | Marine Resources for Seaweek
March 3rd World Wildlife Day
The theme for this year is "Medicinal and aromatic plants: Conserving health, heritage and livelihoods".
March is Whio Awareness Month
There are some great links here with the international days for rivers and water, all happening in March. If you don't have Whio in your area you could choose another freshwater bird or animal to focus on this term.
Week 6
March 14th International Day of Action for Rivers
The link above takes you to the Science Learning Hub website, with lots of great links to river resources and stories.
Week 7
March 21st Autumn Equinox
Ngahuru | Autumn Seasonal Activities has lots of ideas and resources to help you celebrate this time of year, when we start to move into shorter days and longer nights.
March 22 World Water Day
The theme for World Water Day 2026 is "Where water flows, equality grows", focusing on safe water and sanitation as human rights and critical enablers of gender equality.
Heads up for Term Two:
Week One April 20 - 26 is Conservation Week, which has previously taken place in September.
